1978: November 4-10

2 November 2008

Their Restless YearsThree of The Restless Years‘ more ‘senior’ cast members were asked by TV Times to recall some of their own ‘restless years’. June Salter (pictured, bottom right) recalled hiding her smoking habit from her parents, “when I finally had the courage to tell mum ‘I’m 23 and I’m going to smoke in front of you from now on,’ she replied ‘I don’t see why not, you’ve been doing it behind my back since you were 17.” John Hamblin admitted to being a bit of a loner and spending a lot time bird-watching: “not the two-legged variety, the feathery kind. Birds, history and castles were my passions.” But at the age of 20 he was seduced by a woman 15 years his senior, changing his whole attitude to life. Jill Forster said in her younger years she was “all those terrible things: Head prefect, school captain, very bookish. Probably because I was an only child.” She later had a string of failed romances from the time she was 17, “I was always a romantic in search of the great love.”

Our Sally hits the jackpot!Former Young Talent Time cast member Sally Boyden has just returned from Hollywood where she completed a role in the movie Little Dragons, and is now to return to the US to star in the Mary Poppins-type film The Adventures Of Holly Hobby. The young star, now set to become the highest paid Australian child performer to date, is also contracted to appear in a thirteen-part TV series based on the telemovie Lassie The New Beginning.

TV’s reluctant prince of pop Countdown‘s Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum (pictured, interviewing HRH Prince Charles on Countdown‘s 100th episode) can’t sing, dance or act, admits that he isn’t the most articulate speaker, and hates being on camera. Despite this he is one of Australian TV’s most influential personalities. “I never wanted to work in front of the camera – in fact, all I ever wanted to do was to be a record producer and a journalist,” he told TV Times. “If I had my way I wouldn’t be on screen at all.” Meldrum’s TV career started miming pop songs on ATV0‘s Kommotion and later presenting a weekly segment on Uptight, a program which Meldrum describes as “the best thing ever to happen in Australian pop. It was the forerunner to everything.” After working in London and the US, Meldrum reluctantly returned to TV in 1973 to present a rock report on a Saturday morning program for HSV7, and then the following year was involved in a trial run for a new pop music show for ABC called Countdown. But despite hosting one of the most popular TV shows in the country and earning what he calls a “comfortable” wage, Meldrum still says he’s hopeless with money, forgetting to pay a string of parking fines and, after a recent burglary, realised he’d also forgotten to renew his insurance, “I have an accountant to look after my interests now.”

Briefly:Cast members of The Restless Years made a guest appearance on the 1000th episode of Bernard King‘s (pictured) morning TV show King’s Kitchen, to screen next month on the 0-10 Network and on STW9 Perth.

Cast and crew associated with the new 0-10 Network series Prisoner have been banned from speaking to the press.

TV Times reporter Joanna Parsons was involved in a plot to lure actor Ron Frazer into a fake interview which would be ‘interrupted’ by Roger Climpson claiming “Ron Frazer, This Is Your Life!”

Viewpoint: Letters to the Editor:“What is going on? We have one variety show in Adelaide, The Ernie Sigley Show, apart from the eastern imports. Is this all Adelaide can offer? Compared to The Don Lane Show and Mike Walsh, the Ernie Sigley show is dead. Poor old Ernie, I think it is time he gave it away before it gives him away.” G. Culbertson, SA.

“Having only one channel here, ABC, we are forced to watch with disgust, episodes of The Truckies. I feel The Truckies is a slur on hard-working and responsible truck drivers and makes them look like morons.” N. Ford, NT.

“I think The Truckies is thoroughly entertaining and John Wood (pictured), who plays Stokey, is one of my favourite Australian actors.” G. Wallenda, WA.

“I wish to complain about a program on our local TV station, a special The Battle Of Eureka Stockade, rated A. It was on at 5pm and this is a time that young children are watching television. I thought it would be a good educational program, but with words like ‘bastards’, ‘slut’, ‘rip your guts out’ and so on, it was not very educational.” E. O’Connor, QLD.

What’s On (November 4-10):The 0-10 Network has secured the rights to televising the events of the VRC Melbourne Cup Carnival for the first time. Saturday’s coverage starts with a Cup Carnival Breakfast, held at the ATV0 studios and hosted by Michael Williamson, followed by Derby Day coverage from Flemington. On Tuesday, ATV0 presents eight hours of Melbourne Cup Day coverage, starting at 9.00am with a Melbourne Cup Day Preview, then at 11.00am Michael Schildberger hosts six hours of Melbourne Cup coverage, with races called by Clem Dimsey. Thirteen cameras will be placed around Flemington Racecourse to capture the day’s events including fashion displays. ATV0 then returns to Flemington for Oaks Day on Thursday.

The non-ratings season is now evident with some regular shows having finished up or moved to alternative timeslots and some lesser-known replacements filling in.

GTV9‘s The Young Doctors (pictured) has been moved to 8.30pm two nights a week, with its usual 6.00pm timeslot filled by repeats of the US comedy Nanny And The Professor. And filling the gap left by The Daryl And Ossie Show, which finished on ATV0 last week, is an American game show All Star Anything Goes, featuring teams representing various US sitcoms and dramas including Eight Is Enough, The Brady Bunch, The Jeffersons and The Waltons. ATV0‘s The Peter Couchman Show has been replaced by late-night movies, and British series Coronation Street is returned to GTV9, screening Monday and Tuesday nights.

Despite the exodus of some programs for the summer, regular programs including Cop Shop, The Sullivans, The Don Lane Show, The Mike Walsh Show, The Steve Raymond Show, Blankety Blanks, The Restless Years, Willesee At Seven, Countdown, The Inventors, Micro Macro (pictured) and This Day Tonight are still in the schedule.

Sunday night movies are the Australian film The Night Nurse (HSV7), Rosetti And Ryan (GTV9) and Assault On A Queen (ATV0), while ABC presents the Australian Opera production of Fra Diavolo.